Manhattian Nights
by Janers
Summary: He was an East Village rat, she was an Upper East Side princess. Can a mythical love still come true in modern New York? PG13 for language and mild content.
1. The Princess and the Pauper

Chapter One

New York City, Aladdin decided, had to be the only place north of Baltimore that it could be above 90 degrees in April. Maybe it was all that pollution. Yes, that was it, he thought as he kicked an empty Coke can down East 8th Street on his way home from the subway stop. Actually, come to think of it, 'home' was probably stretching it for a ratty little East Village apartment with only two working windows. Damn.

Aladdin lifted his faded red baseball cap to push his thick, black hair off of his already sweaty forehead. At eighteen, the local girls generally considered him good-looking, with his limber figure, tan skin and coffee-colored eyes. All that coupled with his optimistic and outgoing nature made him a great favorite with people his own age but his reputation as a troublemaker meant he often found himself in close skirmishes with the law.

Well, not today, he thought, taking the dingy stairs up to the fifth floor two at a time. When he finally reached #517, he knocked rather than attempt to dig his key out from the sediment of junk in his shorts pocket.

"Who is it?" came a singsong voice from inside.

"C'mon, Omar, who else would it be?" Aladdin knew from experience that it was a bad idea to try to force the door open but the thought crossed his mind anyway.

"Ha ha, our little Aladdin. This peephole makes you look hilarious, Aladdin. Like a pretty little pinhead," his friend teased.

"Open the freaking door already, Omar." Aladdin rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"Say the magic word!" Omar was laughing his head off by now.

"Open Sesame!" Aladdin shouted. Finally, the door opened. "Gee, thanks for letting me in, _pal_."

"Any time, Al-Man, any time." Omar flopped down on the couch. "Bobby's in your room, typing the shit out of the computer. In case you were wondering." Bobby, short for Babkak, was Aladdin and Omar's other roomie and best friend. "And Cassie is right here..." Omar said, tickling his latest girlfriend as the two proceeded to French the living daylights out of each other.

"Gross, Omar!" Aladdin shouted in unison with Bobby, who had just come out of the bedroom he and Aladdin shared.

"So... dinner?" Bobby asked once Omar and Cassie had disconnected.

"Omar is taking me out to dinner," Cassie said demurely before kissing him again.

"Where to, McDonald's?" Aladdin immediately ducked to avoid Omar hitting him with Bobby's calculus book.

"Well, I guess that leaves you and me, Al," Bobby murmured, pretending to bat his eyelashes.

"Okay, okay I'll go get the Chinese," Aladdin laughed. "But only if you cut that out!"

* * *

If something exciting didn't happen to Jasmine soon, she was going to scream.

Well, actually, she wasn't. Jasmine despised girls who screamed about everything. However, she _was_ going to make something happen. She just needed to find a proper time to execute her plan. It was a good plan, too. She could almost smell freedom, and it sure didn't smell like the magnolia air-freshener that permeated her room. It smelled like... well, something that didn't belong _here_. Just like her.

Well, that much was obvious. The bedroom surrounding her was huge and white: huge white canopy bed, huge white carpet, huge white ceiling, huge white French doors leading to huge, white balcony. The only color in the room came from her, the girl lying on the huge white bed, dressed in bright colors and homemade jewelry like a splotch of paint in the pristine room.

"Jasmine?" Her father's face appeared in the doorway. "What are you doing, princess?"

Jasmine sat up, trying not to grimace. She hated the pet name. "Nothing, Daddy. Just... thinking."

"I see." He paused for a moment, studying her face. "Jasmine, I just wanted to tell you that I have to go back to work for a few hours tonight. There's a tough case and they need my help... I'm sorry."

"No, it's ok." Jasmine tried to look sad but she could barely conceal her delight. Perfect! She could do her test run tonight and be back before anyone missed her. "What do you think you'll be done?"

"Around midnight, if I'm lucky. Just promise me you won't turn into a pumpkin or anything," he said with a wink.

"Oh, don't worry. I won't." Jasmine kissed her father's cheek and then waited until he left the room to do a silent victory dance.

Okay. Her watch read 6:37. If she got ready and walked quickly, she could catch the 7:07 at Lexington and 82nd. She would be in the East Village by 7:30. She'd explore, eat, catch the 11:02 at 8th and Astor, and be home by 11:40. It was flawless.

* * *

A/N: Well, there it is, Chapter one! Finally! I've been meaning to post this for some time, and I really hope y'all like it. The Review Monkey likes to get bananas... ; ) Also, just FYI: I am looking for a beta for this story, if you're interested, let me know! Email's on my bio page. Thanks again for reading, Ch 2 should be up soon! 


	2. Kung Pao Karma

Chapter Two

Omar and Cassie had left for dinner at 7:30 sharp, unusually on time. For Omar, at least. The clock now read 7:42, and Aladdin's stomach told him it was time for some Kung Pao chicken. He grabbed his wallet, took Bobby's order, and set off for the House of Chung. One of the few bonuses of living in the East Village, he decided, was all the great food close by. House of Chung was only five minutes away on foot and by 7:49 Aladdin held two of those nifty little white carryout boxes of chicken and sesame noodles.

He was just about to head home when noticed a girl sitting by herself near the entrance. She was dressed like a Villager but at the same time, she had a certain... something about her. She turned to look at the window, flicking her long, messy black braid over her shoulder.

Whoa.

And she was sitting alone! Come, Mr. Suave, he told himself, go talk to her!

"Hey." Wow, smooth Al.

"Um... hi?" The girl fixed her eyes on him and Aladdin could almost feel himself drowning in them.

"You, um, hungry?" He held out a carryout box. Hey, Bobby always forgot to eat anyway. She took it and gave him a small smile. He sat down at the table and tried to think of something to say to her. "So... are you from around here?"

"Not exactly. Do you mind if we don't talk about it?"

"Sure, no problem." Think, think, think... "Hey, whaddya say I show you around a little?"

"I'd like that," she replied with a grin. Aladdin performed a raucous victory dance in his head. He would have liked to dance out loud, but A) that would totally nullify his success by branding himself as a psycho, and B) the last time he had done so, Bobby had informed Aladdin that his victory dance was something that no human should ever be unfortunate enough to witness. Oh well.

Aladdin led her down 8th Street, pointing out various buildings, anything he could think of. "Sorry, there's not a whole lot to see down here... Oh, and this is my building. Welcome to the palace." The girl winced at the term. Gosh, what was the matter with her? "Here, come on up."

"Oh no, I couldn't. I have to—"

"No, no, no, not like _that_." Dumb mistake, Aladdin! he scolded himself, resisting the urge to bang his head against the dingy brick wall. "Here, come on." Aladdin led the girl around the back of the building and scaled the scaffolding up to the roof. "Hold on," he called from the top. "Sorry, the fire escape kind of...never mind. I'll send a something to--." She had climbed up almost as fast as he had. "Wow."

"I'm a fast learner." She sat down on an empty refrigerator box and shucked off her overshirt. "It's hot up here. But nice," she added with a small smile.

"Yeah. How about we eat now?" Aladdin sat next to her and opened his carryout carton. "No offense, but I'm starving."

"Oh, it's fine. I'm hungry too."

"So," Aladdin began, swallowing a mouthful of noodles. "Did you notice we've been running around for almost and hour and don't even know each other's names? I'm Aladdin."

"Nice to meet you, Aladdin." The girl looked conflicted but finally opened her mouth. "I'm— "

"Jasmine Sultana. What are you doing here?" The police? Shit! Why were the police here? And why did they know the girl, whoever she was? Jasmine, that was her name. Jasmine Sultana. Wait- as in the daughter of Officer Sultana, chief of the NYPD? Double shit.

* * *

"Jasmine, I am extremely disappointed in you."

Yeah, don't I know it, Jasmine thought. "I already said I was sorry, Dad."

"Running off to that slum—"

"It's not a slum!"

"With a boy you've never met. A _boy_, Jasmine! What if he had—"

"It wasn't like that, Dad! For God's sake, he was just nice to me. Since when is that a crime?"

"Being nice is not. Kidnapping is," another voice cut in.

"Who the hell asked you, Jafar?"

"Now, Jasmine, there's no need to get angry." Why did her father have to choose such a meddlesome deputy police chief? Jasmine wondered for the millionth time.

"I will get as angry as I want, seeing as this is none of your business. Besides, he didn't kidnap me, I ran away! I'm seventeen, not seven. Since you obviously haven't noticed."

"Jasmine!" Officer Sultana cut back in. "That is quite enough. Jafar, you and I have a lot to discuss. Jasmine, you will go to your room. Now."

Jasmine turned around huffily and stormed upstairs. Why couldn't the world just leave her alone for once?

* * *

A/N: Ahh, the fateful meeting... mwahaha. Hugs to TrudiRose for being my first reviewer!!! So sorry about the weather thing, hopefully the rest of my New York stuff is accurate. Keep on reading, folks! And, of course, the HappyFlower gets really big and pretty with some review pollen...okay, that sucked. Oh well! : )


	3. A Blast to the Past

Chapter Three

Aladdin was still on the roof, and he was still confused. Thank goodness the cops had decided to just question him there instead of taking him to the station. Although it had been clear that Officer Rasoul was not too happy about that. On the other hand, he had had it in for Aladdin since his first day on the force, so that wasn't too surprising.

And then, of course, there was Jasmine. Why on earth would a girl with a life like that want to come to the other side of Manhattan? Aladdin had known that Officer Sultana had a daughter (who in New York didn't, after what happened to his wife?), but somehow he'd pictured...well, definitely not the Jasmine he'd met.

Aladdin felt the cool night air creep up on him and decided to back inside. He was basically alone- Omar and Cassie were still out, and Bobby was busy writing research reports for his Botany 101 class at NYU. He had just crashed on the old plaid couch with the Ben & Jerry's when the phone began ringing loud enough to wake the dead.

"Okay, okay, hold on," he muttered, tucking the Cherry Garcia under his arm as he proceeded to trip over Cassie's laundry, a stack of Bobby's books, and Omar's... wait, what was that thing anyway? Never mind. "Hello?"

"Hello, Aladdin."

Whoa, how did the guy know his name? "Um, hi. Who is this?"

"My name is immaterial. I have a job for you, boy."

"Look, I'm not in the business anymore." Aladdin was getting awfully tired of having to explain this to people. Especially when he really wanted to-- no! "Sorry, have a nice day."

"How silly you young people are." Aladdin could hear the man chuckling on the other end of the phone. "Haven't you ever heard of the Golden Rule? Whoever has the gold makes the rule. Besides, it's in your blood."

Aladdin decided he was officially freaked out now. Who was this guy, and how did he know so much about him? Well, he was right. Aladdin's father used to be known as the King of Thieves, Aladdin had been taught to steal at a young age and it came naturally to him. He had used the skill to his advantage for several years, but the second he turned eighteen he had vowed to give it up. He didn't want to end up like his dad.

On the other hand... well, one little job couldn't hurt. Aladdin felt the familiar tingle of excitement.

"Okay," he said, lowering his voice and cradling the phone closer. "What's the job?"

* * *

A/N: Here 'tis, here 'tis! Thank you so much to all of my reviewers!!! I honestly didn't expect to get such a positive response. Keep a-readin', keep a-reviewin', keep a-enjoyin' (hopefully...hehe)! 


	4. The Job and the Genie

Chapter 4

The job was surprisingly simple. A good thing it was too- Aladdin was seriously out of practice.

The plan was clear. Go to the Cave of Wonders antique shop at 10th and B. Find a small, brass Persian oil lamp. It should be about eight inches long and at the very back of the store, hidden behind a combination-hookah-and-coffeemaker. Take the lamp. The end.

So here he was. The Cave of Wonders. Aladdin took a deep breath and pushed the door open, the little bell on top signaling his arrival to the little old East Indian owner. For a brief moment Aladdin felt bad about what he was about to do- the guy reminded him of his grandpa. He found his way to the 'exotic items' display, in the very last of the showrooms, and hunted through origami, crystallized baguettes, gold chopsticks, and the like until he found the lamps.

Wait...lamps? Plural? Crap.

Aladdin paused for a moment. There were eleven lamps. Only five were brass, though, and three of those were the wrong sizes. That left two lamps...well, only one way to tell. Aladdin flipped the first one over and looked at the bottom.

Made in Taiwan.

Okay, so it was the other one. Aladdin glanced furtively around for some sort of security camera (there wasn't one). He then took off his backpack and quickly stuffed the lamp inside. Mission accomplished.

But...well, he felt sort of...you know, bad. Having sworn to go straight and all. Aladdin picked up the imitation lamp and turned it over in his hands. It was only $6.95... but he had just gotten fired again. But still. Aladdin made his way back to the front of the shop. He forked over his seven dollars before he could change his mind, and was waiting for his change when he heard the high-pitched wailing of—WHAT?

Police sirens? Again? So much for staying out of trouble. The little bell over the door tinkled angrily as a tall, dark police officer marched in.

"Hands up," he barked. Behind his sneer, Aladdin could see the officer wasn't much older than him- twenty-three, maybe. "Sir, is this boy giving you any trouble?"

The shop owner gave the policeman a puzzled look. Well, at least Aladdin wasn't the only confused one.

"Excuse me, sir." Aladdin turned up the charm as high as he could. "I was just making a purchase." He gestured to the lamp on the counter. The cop slapped Aladdin's hand back to attention, but he now had an excited, ravenous gleam in his eye.

"I-- I must confiscate this," he said, twisting his goatee eagerly around his bony index finger. He turned quickly to Aladdin. "Get out of here, boy."

Aladdin nodded briefly, dropped his hands and sauntered out of the shop. Holy cow and Jesus H. Christ in a chicken basket, that was WEIRD, he thought. Almost caught, then not caught and he could have sworn he recognized the police officer's oily voice... Aladdin stopped short, then turned down a deserted alley and pounded his fist against a brick wall. Of course! It was the guy who had called about the job, he was certain of it. Damnit, he hadn't even gotten paid yet for going through all that either!

Trying to suck the blood off of his raw fist, Aladdin dug one-handed through his backpack for the good lamp and studied it carefully. What was so special about it? Bobby's mother used to have dozens of these things in her attic. And this one was pretty dirty looking; Aladdin mused as he rubbed at one of the smudges with his thumb.

"OY! A hundred thousand years will give you SUCH a crick in de neck!"

"What...the...fuck?!" Aladdin could definitely feel his eyes popping out as the big blue puff of smoke coming out of the lamp began talking, changing characters, laughing, explaining—"What? Genie? Three wishes?" Aladdin snorted. "What is this, freaking Arabian Nights?" Aladdin tried to think of some possible explanation for this...thing. He took his fist out of his mouth and studied it. Yeah, he had to be suffering from some kind of _serious _blood loss. That was it. "This is impossible. I am probably having some kind of clinical blood loss and you are a figment of my over-active imagination, not a genie. This is crazy. I bet you couldn't even...umm...fix my hand!" Actually, that wouldn't be half-bad...

Whoa! The whole end of Aladdin's fist was covered with smooth, tight skin- not a scratch!

"Okay, I'll believe you now. So, three wishes, eh?" Infinite possibilities, only three wishes. Dang.

"Excuse me, do mine ears deceive me?" The Genie seemed to be warming up to his new master. "Three wishes? You are down by one, boy!"

Aladdin thought about that for a second. "Hey, I never _asked_ you to fix my hand. You did that on your own!" He grinned at the Genie, who could see when he was beaten.

"All right, you baaaaaad boy," he replied, transfiguring into a sheep. "But no more freebies!"

Aladdin laughed, then glanced at his watch. "Okay, okay, no more freebies. But I've gotta get home, so we'll talk about this later." The Genie zoomed obediently back into his lamp, which Aladdin threw into his backpack. That taken care of, he ran home to tell his friends what he'd seen.

* * *

"A big blue thing? Dude, Aladdin, I thought you said you didn't use!" 

"Omar! I don't, for God's sake! I'm serious, it was huge and it talked and—"

"Come on, Al. What is it—coke? Pot? Meth? I've herd crazy stories about that stuff but this is by far the—"

"Omar!" Aladdin was getting frustrated, fast.

"Calm down, Al. I was only saying that whatever it is, that has to be some _serious_ hardcore shit." Omar paused for a moment, his 'I am having _way_ too much fun pissing you off' look plastered on his face. "Where can I get some?"

"OMAR!" Aladdin and Bobby shouted in unison.

"Leave him alone, Omar," Bobby laughed, going back to his developmental psychology homework. "Go fuck your girlfriend or something."

"You know, that is an excellent idea. Aladdin, you need a girlfriend to keep you off the drugs, sweetheart." Omar's stupid grin was back.

"I AM NOT ON DRUGS!"

"Okay, okay." Omar could barely talk; he was laughing so hard. "Have fun, kiddles. I know I will." He headed for the couch and Bobby threw a notebook out the kitchen door after him.

Aladdin shook his head- now he was laughing too. "I'm gonna go up on the roof, Bobby." Suddenly, an idea began forming in his head for his first wish. "Oh, and, um, I'm probably going to be away for the night. Tomorrow too. Okay?"

"I guess so... Don't get yourself killed or anything, okay?" Bobby started scribbling furiously on his psychology textbook. "Whoever wrote this thing should really meet Omar."

* * *

A/N: Woohoo, 2 chapters in one day!!! Well, come on I couldn't just leave you hanging... actually, I could. But I won't. Kisses to all my marvelous reviewers, plus Karin and Jen, I love you guys. Enjoy, and remain firmly positioned on the end of your seats for the next chapter. Wheeeeee! 


	5. Rooftop Reflection

Chapter Five

Aladdin ran up the seventeen flights of stairs (plus one really skinny one) to the roof. After a furtive glance for any activity on the nearby roofs, he took the lamp out of his backpack and rubbed it gently. The Genie billowed out of the spout, just as before.

"I've been thinking about my first wish, Genie." Aladdin flopped down on the old refrigerator box. "I just...well, I don't know. I mean, what would you wish for?"   
"Me? You want to know what _I_ would wish for?" The big blue guy got a funny, sentimental look on his face. "Freedom. To be my own master. You know?"

"Yeah. I know," Aladdin thought about the request for a moment. "Well listen, Genie. After I make my first two wishes, I'll use the third to set you free. Okay?"

"You mean it? Really"

"Really."

"You're one heck of a master, kid. But enough about me. What are _you _gonna wish for?"

"Well..." The request seemed so stupid but, well... whatever. "Okay. See, there's this girl, and I—"

"Whoa." The Genie drew his finger across his throat. "I can't make anyone fall in love. Sorry, kid."

"I know, I know, but she's got these _eyes _and this amazing hair and she's great to talk to... but she's, like, a princess. Sort of. Anyway, I would never be able to score with her. Her dad's the chief of the police and I'm...oh, I don't know. A pleb. Lower, even."

"So... you need to be a prince. Sort of." The Genie winked at his young master, who nodded vigorously in agreement. "All righty, one bonafide prince-esque pedigree coming right up! Now, first of all, the T-shirt and hat combo has got to go." The Genie began making various magical-looking motions around Aladdin, who mentioned the name of an expensive private school that he was almost positive Jasmine went to and his plan to pose as a new student. With the Genie's help, of course.

Within a few moments, Aladdin found himself clad in the white polo and navy slacks that seemed to be the uniform of every uniform of every private school in America. His backpack had turned into one of those leather messenger bag thingies and his unruly hair was... slicked back? No way. If he wouldn't wear his hair that way for Bobby's mother, he sure as hell wouldn't wear it that way for a girl, no matter how awesome. He ran a hand through to mess it up a bit, nodded in approval, and spent the rest of the night with the Genie planning the details of his new "life".

* * *

A/N: Aah, another chapter. Not a big fan of this chapter, which is why you get a belated Veteran's Day present of....two chapters!! Since I like thatone better, I'll put all of the good author's note stuff there. Hehehehe. 


	6. Alan Princeton Goes to School

Chapter Six

The 7:21 got Aladdin to Pierre and Marie Curie Memorial Academy at 7:44. Exactly. He knew from the schedule that the Genie had produced for him that classes began at 7:55. So he had eleven minutes to... well, sit. He opted to sit outside rather than in, although everything at the school so far seemed to remind him of just how poor he was in real life. He would be willing to bet that the bench he was sitting on cost more than at least two months' rent on his apartment. Then again, almost anything cost more than that...

At 7:47, three limousines pulled up simultaneously. Aladdin could tell that the kids who stepped out of them knew he didn't belong. Oh well, he thought, I'm not here for them.

At 7:49, a Cadillac pulled up, and out stepped... the officer who had hired Aladdin? Shit! Aladdin ducked under a nearby picnic table and watched as the officer opened the door for a highly irritated looking Jasmine. Holy cow, how could she look so good in a polo and a pleated skirt? he wondered. The officer proceeded to kiss her on the hand and appeared to be offering to escort her inside. Oh no, they weren't dating, were they? No, no, Aladdin realized to his relief, Jasmine jerked her hand away and stomped off huffily. Aladdin wanted desperately to catch up and walk her in, but that darned officer stayed by the car until she was well inside the building.

At 7:52, Aladdin decided that the coast was finally clear and crawled out from under the picnic table.

At 7:58, he rushed into room 112, after whacking his head on the picnic table, slipping in his uncomfortable new shoes on the impeccably waxed floor, and slamming his last two fingers in the heavy oak door.

"And you are...?" asked the teacher, a strict-looking man with graying brown hair.

"I'm Alad--, uh I mean Al...an. Alan Prince. Ton. Yup, Alan Princeton, that's me." Aladdin shoved his hair out of his eyes and felt his cheeks flaming.

"Alan Princeton?" The teacher raised his eyebrows quizzically and ran a long finger down the attendance sheet. "Ah yes, here you are. Welcome to CMA. There's an empty seat over there." He waved a dismissive hand at a seat in the back of the room. "Jasmine can help you out for today."

Aladdin nodded gratefully and hurried to the empty seat.

"Are you Jasmine?" he whispered to her. It was just a formality- he had to milk this new kid thing for all he could. She nodded without even looking up from her notebook. This was going to be harder than he thought. "Cool. I'm Alan- Al." He winked daringly at her, but she didn't notice.

"Right..." Jasmine had turned around to grab a physics textbook for him off of the shelves in the back of the room. "We're just finishing Newton's--" She stopped short as he reached for the book and her eyes traveled up to meet his. "Do I...know you?"

"Um, well, I... uh, no. No, I've never met you before. Ever." There was a reason that Aladdin's father had been the King of Thieves, not the King of Liars. Clearly that reason was hereditary.

"Are you sure?" Jasmine pressed. "Where are you from?"

"East-- ah, East Malaysia. Yeah, my parents had to be there the last five years for work and they, um, took me with them."

"Oh. That's... cool." Disbelief was written all over Jasmine's face. "So you've never gone all around the city or anything?"

"Nah, it's too, uh, gritty for my taste." Aladdin flashed a weak smile. Jasmine gave him a funny look and then turned forward to the physics lecture. It was all Aladdin could do not to whack his head against the desk. Apparently he was also related to the King of Stupidity.

He tried his best to pay attention to the physics, but it was no use. Same for calculus and British Lit. He was so hopelessly behind these kids it was hilarious. And he didn't even have passing periods to try and talk to Jasmine- the kids stayed in the same room and the various teachers came to them.

Fourth period was different, though. Art. Apparently they had been working with charcoals for some time, and today they were assigned a charcoal sketch of the person next to them. Now, here was something Aladdin was good at- he had been taking portraiture in school since 10th grade. The charcoal flew across his paper- round face, delicate neck; big, big eyes; wavy midnight hair down to her waist, past the scope of the traditional head-and-shoulders drawing. He was just putting the last button on her polo when he looked up for reference and saw the real Jasmine staring back at him.

"That's...beautiful."

"Well, you're beautiful." Aladdin grinned. "I had to do _some_ justice to my subject." He glanced over at her picture- she had drawn him in the T-shirt and baseball cap he'd worn when they met. "You're really good too. Interesting choices."

"You reminded me of someone." She seemed to be studying his eyes for any flicker to prove that she was right. The two stood like that for a moment, not noticing the second hand tick up to 12:00 until the bell rang, scaring the two apart.

Immediately, Jasmine busied herself packing up her books to go to lunch.

"Hey," she said, just as he was about to leave for the cafeteria. "You want to eat lunch with me?"

"Sure!" Aladdin could barely conceal his excitement. "Uh, where do you sit?"

Jasmine smirked, her eyes challenging him.

"On the roof."

* * *

A/N: Aah, this chapter and the next are definitely my favorites out of what's posted so far. Fluff is such fun to write... mwhahaha. Oh, I've been forgetting disclaimers, so: They're not mine. I promise to clean them when I'm done with them. They all belong to Disney. Even Bobby, Omar, and Cassie. Yes! Trivia time. In the original version of the film, Al had 3 friends, Babkak, Omar, and Kassim, that I chose to bring into this story (I took the liberty of making Kassim a girl, Cassie). So it's all canon. Of course, personalities are MINE, as is P-M CMA (the school, isn't that a fab abbreviation? ; ) I toyed with calling it Prep, rather than Academy, so it could be PMCMP...hehe). Andof course the lovely city of New York belongs to its inhabitants and the President, or whoever owns that stuff these days...Muchas gracias to my reviewers and keep on reading!!!! Sorry for the long A/N. I did warn you... : ) 


	7. Exposed and Ecstatic

Chapter Seven

It was marvelous to be back outside. On the other hand, Aladdin couldn't get over how weird it was not to inhale a quart of smoke along with his oxygen. He took another deep breath as he assessed the scaffolding up to he top of the three-story building, stuck between laughing and panicking. The distance was laughably small- he could scale it in a matter of seconds. The panic part was a combination of not wanting to blow his cover and... well, not wanting to prove Jasmine right. He decided to settle for a mixture: climbing fast like a klutz.

Except that was impossible for him.

And Jasmine was smirking again when he got to the top.

"Climb a lot of scaffolding in _East Malaysia_?" she prodded.

"Oh—oh yeah, tons. Those houses on stilts, you know..." Aladdin tried to cover by showing every last one of his teeth.

"Yeah, except that's Taipei. Malaysians live on the ground." Jasmine flipped to an orange-Post-it-marked page of her World Cultures book and jabbed a finger at a picture of a very flat Malaysian hut.

"Okay, okay, I actually learned here in—"

"New York? Try, a brick apartment building on Avenue C?"

"No, actually it was the Astor Place subw—shit." Aladdin suddenly began wondering how bad the jump from the roof would be.

"It _is_ you!" Jasmine grabbed Aladdin's wrist and dragged him to a section of roof hidden by a cluster of river birches whose leaves fell in a convenient little curtain. "Why did you lie to me?" she hissed.

Aladdin decided that he could deal with a broken ankle. And a dislocated shoulder. And a few splintered ribs... "I didn't... I mean, well, see... I—"

"Shh." Jasmine put a gentle but firm finger to his lips. Relaxing a bit, Aladdin noticed just how close they were. And how her—whoa, Al! Getting a little _too_ relaxed, he thought, smiling a bit.

"Well, I mean, doesn't it sound a little strange?" He reached up and gently twisted her finger away from his mouth. "You know, rich kid playing a Villager?" He smiled weakly and sat down under the trees' branches.

"Not _that_ strange," Jasmine murmured, sitting down next to him.

"Now the hard part came. "Well, since you seem to like it down there too..." Gulp. "AreyoubusytonightcauseIknowagoodplacewannacome?"

"I'd like that," Jasmine laughed, her head against his shoulder.

Aladdin exhaled at last. "Meet me at seven? Or wait- I could pick you up too."

"That would probably be better. Considering my dad's... OCD?"

Aladdin smiled dutifully then let his arm slip down around her waist. God, he wanted to kiss her so badly! But there were other people around now. On the other hand, he decided, they were busy enough on their own not to notice...

* * *

A/N: Aww, I love fluff. Actually, I hate fluff. But it's such fun to write... ; ) Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I just want to address one thing- I am aware of the story "Once Upon a Time in NYC", HOWEVER, I did not copy the idea and I think anyone who has read both of these stories can clearly see that they are very different. Ceridwen-Aymed is a very talented writer and I would never dream of stealing her ideas. Whew. Now that's outta the way, get ready for... the date! Mwahaha. 


	8. PreDate Jitters

Chapter 8

It was 6:51, and Jasmine was sitting on the circular marble staircase, tapping her foot until she realized that it echoed throughout the entire lower level. So she stopped. Then she shifted her long, green broomstick pleated skirt. Then she twisted and untwisted the straps of her black tanktop until the wouldn't dare to move anymore. Then she pulled her thick hair up into a knot. Then she remembered that she had worn it down because Aladdin—no, no, Alan—had liked it. Then the doorbell rang.

Jasmine leapt off of the stairs and almost ran the 38 footsteps to the front door, casting a cursory glance into the ornate gold mirror on the wall. She flung herself against the door and peered through the tiny peephole in the door.

It was the UPS man.

* * *

A/N: So, contrary to popular belief, I have not dropped off the face of the earth... It's been finals and all the ick that surrounds them. Hopefully this is enough to tide my lovely readers over until I can post a proper chapter over the weekend! Kisses to all and happy belated Turkey Day! 


	9. Curry Flavored Kisses

Chapter Nine

Aladdin gulped nervously as he watched the UPS truck pull out of the driveway. Watch the car, watch the car… okay. He let out a sigh of relief. Both he and the Genie had decided that a car would be the best mode of transportation in this situation (despite the general impracticalness of driving in the city), but Aladdin hadn't expected to receive what appeared to be the Genie's own dream car. It was interesting… to say the least.

After a nervous glance at the imposing house, Aladdin loosened his tie, glanced into the side mirror and took a deep breath. Cool, he told himself. Just play it cool, boy. Real cool. And ring the damn doorbell already. He did, and Jasmine opened the door almost immediately, with a package in her arms.

"Hey!" Aladdin leaned in for a kiss.

"Mmpf!" Jasmine vocalized. "Not here," she whispered, setting the package down on a small inlaid table and exchanging it for her floppy purse.

"Jasmine?" came another voice from the echoey hallway, followed by a figure- Officer Sultana.

"Who on earth is that creature?" And another figure apparantly. One Aladdin wasn't too pleased to see.

"Daddy, Jafar, this is Alan. Alan, my father, Faisal Sultana."

"Delighted, my boy," said Officer Sultana, shaking Aladdin's hand vigorously. Jafar cleared his throat impatiently.

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "And this is my father's deputy, Jafar."

"Thrilled," Jafar intoned dryly, ignoring Aladdin's extended hand. He turned to Jamine's father. "Sir, do you really find it wise to allow this…" Jafar droned on and Aladdin felt a sudden grip of panic. Surely Jafar recognized him. True, he couldn't expose Aladdin without incriminating himself, but still…

"Nonsense, Jafar. Alan seems like a fine boy. Now, you two go off before it's too late."

"Thank you, Daddy." Jasmine planted a quick kiss on her father's cheek and pulled the still-panic-stricken Aladdin out the door.

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"So… where are we going?" Jasmine asked excitedly as soon as Aladdin had parked the car, which promptly disappeared as soo as her back was turned.

"Well…" Aladdin pretended to think. "You like Indian food?"

"YES! Oh my gosh, how did you know?"

"Uh, lucky guess?" If luck comes in the form of a large blue Genie… "Okay, it's on this street. Look for a sort of yellowish building, it's called the Magic Carpet. Best Rice on this side of the Atlantic, trust me. The Pacific too."

"Sounds fabulous." Aladdin couldn't be happier with how well things were going. It's not gonna last, the nagging little voice in his head told him, but then, what do little voices know?

They found the Magic Carpet after a little… distraction. Afterwards, Aladdin didn't remember what he ordered or how it tasted. All he remembered as he led Jasmine back to his apartment was that curry-flavored kisses were infinitely better than ordinary ones.

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"Holy, mamasitas, who is _this_?"

"Omar…" Aladdin ground his heel into his friend's foot. "Remember, this is--"

"OW!"

"Sorry. This is Jasmine. Jasmine, this is Omar, the resident idiot."

"Filling those shoes since 1985," Bobby cut in from behind.

"The resident non-idiot. Bobby." He grinned and gestured chivalrously for Jasmine to enter.

Aladdin stepped in nervously after her. Compared with her place, the apartment looked so… dingy. He tried to picture what she would think of it: the plaid couch was faded and had several holes in it, one of which Bobby had chosen to stuff with the shreds of an essay he'd particularily disliked. The TV was a jumpy 80's model, the table's varnish was peeling. There weren't clothes all over the floor (thank God for small favors, Aladdin thought), but Bobby's glasses were duct-taped and Omar's shirt had clearly seen better days. Aladdin considered himself lucky that Jasmine didn't know that he actually lived here- they were only here because Bobby had insisted upon being introduced to Aladdin's "mystery girl". So Aladdin had told her that the apartment he'd brought her to last time belonged to Bobby, a relative/friend (technically true, Bobby's mom was Aladdin's foster mother), and Omar, his brother. Which was also technically true, Omar and Bobby were certainly close enough to be brothers. It just wasn't—

"It's perfect." Jasmine smiled and scooted closer to him on the couch. "I love it here," she whispered, almost as if she could read his mind. "And I like your… cousins?"

"Yeah," Aladdin said, relaxing a bit. "Cousins." Fortunately the 'cousins' had decided to leave them alone.

"Wouldn't it be nice? To live somewhere like this, I mean."

Nice? Not exactly the word that came to Aladdin's mind… "Maybe for a while. Not forever, though. I mean, not so long that you're stuck and you –" Aladdin stopped himself. "Yeah, you're right. It would be." He checked the watch the Genie had given him. "Ohhh shit. We'd better get going if I ever want to be able to take you out again." It would take at least half an hour to find the car and drive her home and they only had sixminutes until Jasmine's curfew… wait. "Uh, why don't you grab your stuff and start down the hall. I'm just going to… uh… say thanks to Bobby and Omar for having us. I'll catch up in a minute."

Jasmine gave him a quizzical look but went to go get her coat. At the same time, Aladdin ran to his room and grabbed the lamp.

"Genie? Genie, I need you to get me and Jasmine back to her house within… four minutes. Can you—"

"Four minutes? You can't rush art, my man."

"_Genie_. Please?" Aladdin paused. "Oh, and could you possibly do it without her knowing what happened?"

"Ach, the things I do for you, kid…"

"Please?"

"Okay, stand by…" The Genie rolled up his sleeves and…

… and Aladdin found himself and Jasmine back at her house. With the car. Score. Thanks, Genie, he thought as he kissed Jasmine goodnight. He watched dreamily as he stood outside, watching that she made it inside all right. Suddenly, he felt his back slam against the brick wall of the house.

"We need to talk, boy," snarled an uncomfortably familiar voice.

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A/N: Mwahaha, I did promise you a real chapter!! Sorry this took so long to crank out, as I said, I had finals to prep for and also I'm really not too fond of this chapter. As I may have mentioned, I don't really enjoy writing fluff but it needed to happen and… the story can go on now!!! Wheee! Thank you all again for your wonderful feedback and hopefully the next chapter will be quicker in coming! Oh, and also: anyone who caught the West Side Story reference wins one of Mrs Podbelski's Most Excellent Cookies. Ta ta!


	10. Flash Attack

Chapter Ten

Aladdin could feel his heart beating along his back as a trickle of blood seeped through the back of his shirt.

"Wh- what do you want?" he gasped.

"You know perfectly well what I want, boy!" Jafar hissed, tightening his grip on Aladdin's collar. "Where is the lamp?"

"What lamp, sir?" The combination of ignorance and humility usually worked, it convinced his perpetrator that he was as stupid as an insect and far less worthy of squishing.

Apparently Jafar was unconvinced.

"Oh, _that_ lamp." Aladdin took a gulp of air. "I gave it to you already, remember?"

"It does not work, you idiot!"

"Maybe it's a dud?"

"It is not a—" Jafar stopped and squinted at a shadowy shape by Aladdin's feet. Aladdin's heart sunk as he looked down at it. The Genie must have followed him when he had transported Aladdin and Jasmine back here.

"Well, well, well." He released Aladdin's shirt and let him fall onto the sidewalk as he bent down to pick up the lamp. A frightening, almost possessed gleam came into Jafar's cold, dark eyes as he held the precious object. "Get up, boy," he demanded, roughly prodding Aladdin with his foot. "I believe you have something to tell your little princess."

* * *

"Jasmine?" Jafar called up the staircase as he yanked Aladdin into the foyer.

"Go home, Jafar, I'm trying to sleep," came her voice from upstairs. Jafar frowned and then turned to the lamp, rubbing it vigorously.

"Hey, Al, I was just about to—hold up. You're not Al…" the Genie mused, and performed one of his random character pops. "The part of Aladdin will now be played by a dark, sinister man—"

"Oh, shut up, you great blue lout. I am your master now, and for my first wish, I command you to make me the most powerful man in the world."

"Well, that's a pretty hefty order, I—"

"Don't do it, Genie!" Aladdin shouted.

"No use, little buddy," said the Genie mournfully. "I've got a new master now." He squeezed his eyes shut and there was a flash of light. Jafar stared at his hands, wriggling his fingers wonderingly. He gave a sharp gesture, and Jasmine floated down to the foyer, still in her pajamas, sleepy-eyed and scraggly-haired.

"What on earth…" she said, looking sleepily around the room. "Alan! Why are you here—you're bleeding!" She began to rush towards Aladdin but was met with a magical barrier that flung her onto a nearby chair.

"Funny you should mention that," Jafar sneered, turning to Aladdin. "So that's what you're going by these days- Alan? Or should I say…" He snapped his fingers and Aladdin appeared in the clothes he had worn the day he had first met Jasmine. "…Aladdin?"

"Aladdin?" A confused look flickered across Jasmine's face, and Aladdin could see it all fall into place in her head. "But you, I—"

"Dear me, have I spoiled your little secret, boy?" Jafar chuckled. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to tell the truth?"

"Jasmine, I can explain, trust me—"

"Why, so you can come up with more lies to tell me? I don't think so."

"I don't think so either, Aladdin." Jafar twirled a glowing strand of magic around his index finger. There was another explosion of light and then overwhelming darkness greeted Aladdin.

* * *

When Aladdin came to, he found himself in a room he didn't recognize. It was simply and elegantly furnished- he must still be at Jasmine's. He blinked groggily, trying in vain to ignore the pounding in his head, and squinted to read the flashing red numbers of the clock. 2:17, it read. Aladdin sat up n the floor, trying to figure out what had happened. It had to still be Friday night, (or rather, Saturday morning), and a quick check of his own watch confirmed that.

But how had he gotten up here? That was the big question. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think through the drum beat in his head. There had been a flash, of course, and then a sort of… hurtling sensation. HE stood up, pacing and trying to piece it together. He had to have gotten upstairs somehow, because this was definitely an upstairs room. Perhaps that had caused it. And then, since he couldn't do _anything_ gracefully, he must have hit his head on—well, on something. Didn't really want to know what.

Anyways, Aladdin berated himself. Who cares how you got up here, just get the hell out of here, he thought. Shaking some dust and half of a Fun Size Snickers wrapper out of his hair (apparently the Sultanas' home wasn't quite as immaculate as he'd assumed); he moved toward the door and gently tried the knob. It was locked, of course. He slumped against the door and shoved his hands into his pockets. If this were the old days, he'd have no problem; he used to carry tons of things for this kind of situation. Why had he jumped back into this without thinking about the details? But maybe… he dug vigorously through the layers of junk in his pocket, all the way to that weird point where he could actually feel the lining, until hit fingers lit upon a familiar slender packet. He pulled it out and rubbed it with his thumb, watching as three slim lock picks slid in and out. So he had a way out- which was exactly the same way he'd gotten in, going back to everything he'd tried to give up.

It's not for me; he tried to convince his stubborn conscience. It's for Jasmine.

So why did it feel so wrong?

Well, he couldn't back out now, both of them were too far into his mistake. Aladdin took a deep, shaky breath and selected a pick. He knelt down beside the door, laid a hand on the cold knob, and gingerly prodded the pick into the lock. The gears scraped and clicked, and finally Aladdin could hear the door unlock.

* * *

A/N: And finally!! Thank you all for putting up with my prolonged absences, I know how much it sucks to wait for updates. But it's here now! I can't believe this fic is almost done! Hopefuly Chapter 11 will be up sooner than this was… but then, I say that every time, don't I? Oh well. Props to Mara for the Fun Size Snickers and to all of you for your loverly reviews. 


	11. Rapid Developments

**Chapter 11**

The door yielded easily to Aladdin's touch- thank God for fancy hinges- and he crawled out of the room towards the landing. The thick beige carpet muffled the sound of his knees against the floor as he went. The top of the staircase was dark, but by the time he reached the fourth step down, the shady covering was fading fast. He glanced quickly to either side. The slender mahogany spires supporting the stair rail were fairly far apart… he was fairly thin… Aladdin suddenly hated himself for being so resourceful. Oh well, he thought, here goes nothing… He tugged carefully on one of the spires to be sure it would hold, and then took one in each hand and swung himself onto the side of the spiral staircase so that he hung off the side, obscured by the foundation of the staircase and holding on by the bases of the spires. By holding on in such a manner, he could peer over the top of the step he was on and observe any action in the room as he guided himself towards the floor, step by precarious step.

As he climbed down, he spotted Jasmine, seated near the mirror on the foyer wall and arguing with Jafar, who was getting very frustrated very fast.

"When will you realize that that insignificant little brat—" Jafar slammed the lamp onto the side table in frustration, but as he did so, a visible cog turned in his mind. He picked the lamp up and began to rub it vigorously. "Genie of the lamp," he called. "I command that you make Miss I-Am-Ridiculously-Obstinate Jasmine fall in love with me."

"Well, Master, there are a few guidelines, some quid-pro-quos—" began the rudely awakened Genie with an uneasy laugh. Just then, in the mirror, Jasmine caught a glimpse of dark hair moving behind the staircase. Quickly, she faced the mirror, undid the top buttons of her shirt, and ran a hand through her loose hair in an attempt to tousle it.

"Oh, Jafar," Jasmine interrupted. "What insignificant little brat?" She asked coyly, almost gagging on the saccharinity of her imitation of all the preppiest of the preppy girls at school when they were in 'love'. Hey, it was all she had to draw from, after all, she had never been in love… or had she? Was that why she was protecting Aladdin even after all that had happened, all the times he'd lied to her? Jasmine shook the tantalizing thoughts out of her head, reminding herself that she had to keep pretending to be magically in love with Jafar now.

"Genie, you do not trust your skills enough," Jafar reprimanded softly. He turned to face Jasmine, wide-eyed with lusty delight. "You truly no longer care for the boy?" he asked, as if to be certain that he wasn't dreaming.

Jasmine smiled demurely. "Why, how could I? I just never realized that you're so… tall, and dark… and…" Evil? Perverted? "And your beard is so… twisted," she murmured, gently stroking his bristly cheek and applauding herself for not throwing up yet. She glanced quickly past Jafar and spotted Aladdin's hair moving down to the lower stairs. She had to buy him some time! Think, think—without allowing herself to think about the grotesque nature of it, Jasmine pressed herself against Jafar and onto the wall opposite the mirror, kissing him deeply and forcing her tongue between his thin lips. He gave in easily to her pressure but surfaced quickly from the kiss for air.

"Jasmine, I—" Suddenly, Jafar caught sight of movement in the lower corner of the mirror. "YOU?" he shouted.

* * *

A/N: It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the Apocalypse! No, it's Chapter 11 at long last! Ugh, thank y'all for putting up with the crazy-long wait- hope it's worth it. Come on, there's a slutty out-of-character Jasmine here! Who can resist that? ; ) Anyways, thanks again, the last chapter is coming soon, I swear! Besos y abrazos. Neshikot v'chibukim. Whatever.


	12. The End

**Chapter 12**

"Aladdin, no!" Jasmine shouted as Jafar pushed her away.

"How many times do I have to get rid of you, boy?" Jafar fumed. "This is impossible; I'm supposed to be the most powerful being in the world!"

Suddenly, a glimmer of an idea flashed through Aladdin's mind. Could it work? He didn't have much other choice at the moment. "No, you're not!" Aladdin retorted, praying the idea would work. "The Genie gave you your powers; he can take them back again!"

Jafar opened his mouth to disagree, and then stopped. "The boy has a point…" he mused, and then cried, "Genie! For my final wish, I wish for you to turn me into a Genie!"

"Nice going, Al…" the Genie said, gritting his teeth. He raised his arms to perform the magic, but Aladdin made a gesture to him.

"You're just forgetting one thing," Aladdin called, hoping the Genie had understood his hasty motion. "A Genie isn't free!" The Genie raised his finger and pointed it at Jafar's wrists, where a dull grey pair of handcuffs appeared. "Looks like you've got some charges on your record, Jafar. Take him away, Genie."

"With pleasure," the Genie said, grinning. Jasmine ran over to Aladdin and wrapped him in an exhausted embrace.

"Hold on, Jasmine," Aladdin said, wriggling away. "Genie!" The Genie turned around and faced Aladdin, still keeping a tight grip on Jafar. "Listen, I have that one last wish, and… well… Genie, I wish for you to be free."

The Genie got a funny soft look in his eyes. "You mean it, Al?" He asked softly.

"I've never been more serious in my life. Have fun, Big Blue Guy, maybe you can come see me after you go around the world or whatever you want to do." Aladdin smiled as the Genie disappeared, taking Jafar with him. Then he rushed back to Jasmine, who was watching from the center of the room. "Now… where were we?" He slipped his arms around her, feeling her tired frame sink into his. The two just stood for a minute, and then Aladdin lifted her chin and moved in for a kiss… but Jasmine pulled away.

"Aladdin…" she looked down hesitantly. "Or Alan, or… I don't even know who you are. I met you and liked you how you were, but you kept lying and switching names, and—"

Aladdin stared at her, ready to be angry, after all, he'd just saved her life and she was asking him to explain himself? But then… she was right. "Well, for starters, I'm definitely Aladdin," he began, leading her to sit down on the stairs and then sat next to her. "And remember Bobby and Omar? Well, Bobby's really my cousin and I actually live there with him and Omar and Cassie…" He told her the whole story of the lamp and Jafar and being Alan Princeton. "And that's really it, you can come see for yourself any time you want." He took a deep breath. "So… do you think you can trust me now?"

"Oh, Aladdin," Jasmine smiled and put her hand to his cheek. She kissed him, a simple, honest, and perfectly forgiving kiss. "I never stopped."

* * *

A/N: AND IT'S DONE! Holy cow, I think this is the first story I've ever finished. Sorry for the kinda sappy ending, but it felt… right. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, I never could have done it without you. And thank you to the Beatles, without their music I probably would never have been able to finish this. : ) 


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